Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, and Bolaji Badejo. The film takes place in the distant future and follows the crew of “Nostromo,” a commercial spaceship headed back to Earth after completing a job. Halfway there, they pick up a distress signal from a distant moon and decide to investigate. After no survivors are found, the crew leaves the planet after discovering what appears to be a parasitic alien lifeform. Unfortunately, their extraterrestrial hitchhiker turns out to be more dangerous than they could have imagined, leading to a fight for survival led by horror-heroine royalty: Ripely (Weaver). 

Not only is Weaver’s performance a memorable one but her character is written in a way that elevates her above the typical final girls of the era. She immediately establishes herself as the most intelligent and responsible crew member without being an annoying sticker. Through Ripley, the film explores the idea of gender gaps still existing in the distant future. The thing is, unlike most modern films that explore this topic, Alien allows this theme to exist naturally within the world/story which is more palatable and ultimately more effective. Unfortunately, this theme is slightly undermined in the film’s final sequence which sees Ripley strip down to her underwear for seemingly no good reason as the camera focuses longingly on her booty. Weaver is a smokeshow here, don’t get me wrong, it’s just redundant thematically as well as slightly immature. 

It’s always nice to have a strong lead like Sigourney Weaver, but Alien spoils the viewer with an A-list supporting cast that doesn’t feature a single weak performance. John Hurt’s performance during the iconic “chest-burster” scene is a central element in why it works so well, Tom Skerritt plays the typical captain archetype but distinguishes the character with a hint of mystery, and Ian Holm feels coldly authentic as a science officer who harbors a dark, futuristic secret. Although they fade in one’s memory easier than the characters mentioned previously, Bolaji Badejo and Veronica Cartwright likewise give strong turns as the film’s comic relief character and stereotypical coward character respectively. 

From the opening frame, the film focuses on providing the feelings of stillness and silence that space horror films should always feature. I guess this is what many people consider the template for the genre, so it’s no surprise that it nails the tone. There’s also some surprisingly strong sci-fi world-building similar to what director Ridley Scott perfected three years later with Blade Runner (1982). It’s not that the world feels particularly complex or layered, instead, it feels prophetic. Mega corporations control space travel, having turned “the final frontier” into nothing more than a commonplace trade route. It also portrays AI as nothing more than a tool to support corporate interests. This is all brilliant in the sense that this was essentially the first film to take these typical sci-fi tropes and find their horrific edge. Speaking of which, instead of giving us a friendly green Martian or a sentient being who wants to invade Earth, Alien features a monstrous, parasitic creature with acid for blood and not a shred of mercy. The funny thing is, taking these tropes and finding the horror in them may seem a bit gimmicky on paper, but it works because the horror spin feels to be the most likely reality. 

Although most films this old struggle to hold up and Alien admittedly features a somewhat dated slasher structure, the film still works due to its commitment to practical set and creature design. Even though the alien’s design is a tad silly compared to its designs in the eventual sequels, Scott intelligently limits our view – only showing it for split seconds and rarely showing its full form.

Although the film is well made on almost every technical level, it’s lacking in terms of thematic depth. It’s often a film that relies on style over substance, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, I just expect more in that department from a film with a timeless legacy such as this. The prolonged sequences of tension, which are often what the film is praised for, also feel drawn out to the redundancy. It may have worked for audiences in 1979, but it’s painfully slow-paced for any viewer with more modern sensibilities. 

Overall, although the film has aged in a handful of small ways, it still earns its title as THE sci-fi horror classic. Its technical elements are as strong as they come and Scott’s direction is bold in terms of breaking new ground for the genre. Weaver is iconic as Ripley and the titular alien is one of the most memorable movie monsters of all time. Whether one agrees on whether this film holds up or not, one thing is for sure, it features one of the most memorable and brutal jump scares of all time. That alone would make me want to recommend the film, but there’s a lot more to appreciate as well. B+